BlackBerry most searched smartphone on e-commerce portals: ViziSense

Only 5 per cent of the users studied searched for Apple iPhone on e-commerce sites in India.

According to a study conducted by ViziSense.com, the online audience measurement firm of the ad network company named Komli Media, Research In Motion's (RIM) BlackBerry phones are amongst the most searched smartphones on e-commerce portals.

The findings are based on the surfing behaviour of online users -- who searched for mobile handsets -- on more than 10 e-commerce portals including eBay.in, Dealsandyou.com and Naaptol.com, during the January to April 2011 period. The study points out that 29 per cent of all the searches for mobile phones on e-commerce sites were related to BlackBerry. Nokia and Samsung dominated the mobile phones searches with 35 per cent and 30 per cent share, respectively. Micromax was the fourth most searched brand -- with 22 per cent share -- on the e-commerce portals.

"Amongst RIM phones, 'BlackBerry Curve 8520' was the most-searched smartphone. In case of Nokia and Samsung brands, the larger chunk of searches was related to their low-end/affordable phone models. Very few searches were linked to smartphone models of Nokia and Samsung brands. Fifty per cent of Micromax related searches were linked to its smartphone models," Amit Bhartiya, general manager and vice-president, ViziSense.com tells afaqs!

Other prominent mobile phone brands searched by internet users on the e-commerce sites are Sony Ericsson (18 per cent search share), Spice (11 per cent), LG (11 per cent), HTC (9 per cent), Karbonn (9 per cent), Motorola (8 per cent) and Videocon (8 per cent). Only 5 per cent of the users studied, searched for Apple iPhone on e-commerce sites.

Interestingly, 44 per cent of people surveyed showed interest in smartphones, as compared to lower-end mobile handsets. For the record, smartphones contribute less than 5 per cent of total mobile handset market in India.

The study further points out that amongst all those who looked for phones online, 12 per cent of them ended up purchasing the mobile phones from the e-commerce and group buying websites. One out of eight mobile phone searches ended up in transaction. The study indicates that users compared many brands before making their final decision to purchase. There's a significant case of duplication of users in case of top brands like Nokia and Samsung, where almost 50 per cent users compared both the brands before they took a decision.

Bhartiya says, "Rampant changes and upgrades in phone models and features have made the internet a very compelling medium to help decision making around buying phones. As the largest number of buyers lies in the age range of 15-24 years across the country, BlackBerry seems to have a done great job in capturing the imagination of this audience in a market infested by smart phones."